23 Bhairab BNP men, 4 cops sued on extortion charge
Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj
Twenty-three BNP leaders and activists of Bhairab and four policemen have been sued for alleged extortion.The accused include senior vice-president of Bhairab upazila BNP Md Afzal Huq, Jubo Dal convener and Union Parisad chairman Nur Hossen Sentu and coordinator of upazila four- party alliance Mahfuz Ahmed. The rest are activists of BNP and its front organizations. The four policemen sued are constables Prodip Kumar Chakrabarty, Abdul Karim, Kamrul Islam and Kamal Hossen of Bhairab police station. Gazaria union Awami League (AL) secretary Farid Uddin Khan filed the case with the court of Magistrate Tahmina Akhtar in Kishoreganj on Thursday against the BNP leaders and activists and policemen alleging extortion of Tk one lakh from him. magistrate Tahmina Akhtar asked the officer-in-charge of Bhairab police station to investigate the allegation, court sources said yesterday. Farid Uddin in his complaint alleged that that upazila BNP vice president Afzal Haq with other BNP leaders and activists demanded Tk 25,000 during 2001 general election because he (Farid Uddin) worked for the AL candidate. He also alleged that Afzal earlier threatened him not to work for the AL candidate in the area. On December 20, 2001 the BNP activists led by Afzal attacked and damaged his house and looted valuables, the allegation said. He managed to escape and left the area out of fear district, Farid stated in his complaint. Farid returned home after seven months. Soon after, the BNP men led by Afzal attacked his house again with firearms. Four constables of Bhairab police station helped him in this regard. He was bullet-hit in the leg as BNP cadre Badal Miah shot him during the attack, Farid stated. He then came to an understanding with Afzal and his followers by agreeing to pay them toll to live in the area. The BNP men realized Tk one lakh from him during the four-party alliance government's tenure, Farid said in his complaint. The money was given in several installments, he claimed. While contacted yesterday, Second Officer Aminul Islam of Bhairob police station said they were yet to get a copy of the case from court. "We may receive the copy Sunday (today) and then take steps", Aminul Islam said.
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